Mental Health Workforce and Language Access Act of 2023

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3189 To increase language access to behavioral health services at eligible health centers, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 10, 2023 Ms. MENG (for herself, Mr. FITZPATRICK, and Ms. CLARKE of New York) in- troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on En- ergy and Commerce A BILL To increase language access to behavioral health services at eligible health centers, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Mental Health Work- 4 force and Language Access Act of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM TO INCREASE LAN- 6 GUAGE ACCESS AT ELIGIBLE HEALTH CEN- 7 TERS. 8 (a) GRANTS.—The Secretary shall carry out a dem- 9 onstration program consisting of awarding supplemental 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:50 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3189.IH H3189 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 3189 IH grants under section 330 of the Public Health Service Act 1 (42 U.S.C. 254b) to eligible health centers to recruit, hire, 2 employ, and supervise qualified behavioral health profes- 3 sionals who— 4 (1) are proficient in speaking and under- 5 standing both spoken English and at least one other 6 spoken language, including any necessary specialized 7 vocabulary, terminology, and phraseology; 8 (2) are able to effectively, accurately, and im- 9 partially communicate directly with limited English 10 proficient individuals in their primary language; and 11 (3) are, or will be, employed— 12 (A) directly by the eligible health center; or 13 (B) through a contract between the eligible 14 health center and the qualified behavioral 15 health professional that provides for supervision 16 of the professional by the health center in order 17 to provide behavioral health services in another 18 language. 19 (b) PREFERENCE.—In selecting grant recipients 20 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall give preference 21 to eligible health centers at which at least 10 percent of 22 the patients are best served in a language other than 23 English, as indicated by data in the Uniform Data System 24 (or any successor database). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:50 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3189.IH H3189 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 3189 IH (c) MARKETING.—An eligible health center receiving 1 a grant under this section shall use a portion of the grant 2 funds to disseminate information about, and otherwise 3 market, the behavioral health services supported through 4 the grant. 5 (d) REPORTS.— 6 (1) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 6 months 7 after the first grants are awarded under subsection 8 (a), the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on 9 Appropriations and Energy and Commerce of the 10 House of Representatives, the Committees on Appro- 11 priations and Health, Education, Labor, and Pen- 12 sions of the Senate, and other appropriate congres- 13 sional committees, a report on the implementation of 14 the program under this section. Such report shall in- 15 clude— 16 (A) the languages spoken by the qualified 17 behavioral health professionals recruited pursu- 18 ant to a grant under subsection (a); 19 (B) the eligible health center at which each 20 such professional was placed; 21 (C) how many eligible health centers re- 22 ceived grants under subsection (a); 23 (D) an analysis, conducted in consultation 24 with the eligible health centers receiving grants 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:50 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3189.IH H3189 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 3189 IH under subsection (a), of the effectiveness of 1 such grants at increasing language access to be- 2 havioral health services; and 3 (E) best practices, developed in consulta- 4 tion with eligible health centers receiving grants 5 under subsection (a), for the recruitment and 6 retention of qualified behavioral health profes- 7 sionals at such health centers. 8 (2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than the end of 9 fiscal year 2026, the Secretary shall submit to the 10 Committees on Appropriations and Energy and 11 Commerce of the House of Representatives, the 12 Committees on Appropriations and Health, Edu- 13 cation, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, and other 14 appropriate congressional committees, a final report 15 on the implementation of the program under this 16 section, including the information, analysis, and best 17 practices described in subparagraphs (A) through 18 (E) of paragraph (1). 19 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 20 (1) The term ‘‘eligible health center’’ means a 21 health center (as defined in section 330 of the Pub- 22 lic Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254b)) that is al- 23 ready receiving assistance pursuant to one or more 24 grants under such section 330 at the time of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:50 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3189.IH H3189 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 3189 IH award to such health center of a supplemental grant 1 under subsection (a). 2 (2) The term ‘‘qualified behavioral health pro- 3 fessional’’ means— 4 (A) a behavioral and mental health profes- 5 sional (as defined in section 331(a)(3)(E)(i) of 6 the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 7 254d(a)(3)(E)(i))); 8 (B) substance use disorder counselor; 9 (C) an occupational therapist; or 10 (D) an individual who— 11 (i) has not yet been licensed or cer- 12 tified to serve as a professional listed in 13 any of subparagraphs (A) through (C); 14 and 15 (ii) will serve at the eligible health 16 center under the supervision of a licensed 17 individual or certified professional so list- 18 ed. 19 (3) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 20 of Health and Human Services. 21 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—To carry out this section, 23 there is authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 24 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2029. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:50 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3189.IH H3189 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 3189 IH (2) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Amounts 1 made available to carry out this section shall be in 2 addition to amounts otherwise available to carry out 3 section 330 of the Public Health Service Act (42 4 U.S.C. 254b). 5 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:50 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3189.IH H3189 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB